


Caponata Comfort

by FoxFateWrites



Category: Junior Express (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Food
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 14:32:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18573418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxFateWrites/pseuds/FoxFateWrites
Summary: Francis goes to Harmony after the whole Caponata incident.





	Caponata Comfort

Harmony took another deep breath. Inhale, then exhale. She would repeat the process until she reached that level of relaxation that calmed her. After smelling the Caponata, she needed to take a timeout. She wasn’t used to falling for aromas, especially to the point where she wasn’t doing her job. Nothing a little meditation couldn’t fix. She smiled to herself, returning to her calming state. 

“Harmony” she heard her name being called. Francis. She smiled, it was about time for him to meet her for their daily session. She got up and grabbed the other mat that Francis usually sat on when he joined her. Strange, he was usually hear by now. The door slid open and Francis walked in, holding his stomach with a pained expression on his face. Harmony watched him for a minute, frozen in place. Francis has never been on to over do it. Heck, Francis usually didn’t eat. Francis had obviously just eaten a very large meal, but it was so unlike him. 

“Francis, what happened?” Harmony asked, moving his arms from his stomach.Now she could see the damage. His vest was open, and she was sure under that apron his shirt had probably risen up. He looked painfully overfull.

“Caponata” he merely said. Francis so badly just wanted to sit down, or even better,lay down. His stomach had started to hurt while he was in the kitchen and Arnoldo had gone back to sleep so there was only one person he could go to. 

“Francis, Caponata gives me no context of the situation” Harmony told him. Her poor friend looked awful. It was obvious he was tired and in pain. 

“I ate all of it” Francis said, shifting his weight between his legs. Harmony gave him a look. 

“Francis, you ate  all  of the Caponata?” Harmony asked. Francis nodded his head and put a hand to his stomach. 

“I thought maybe some meditation would help?” Francis asked, already walking, no as Harmony watched him it was more of a waddle, over to his mat. 

“I think you should get Arnoldo to make you something for your belly, Francis” Harmony told him as she watched him sit down on the floor. Francis did not like this position, it hurt his stomach even more. 

“Arnoldo went back to sleep” Francis told her. Harmony huffed, Arnoldo had been sleeping a lot, lately. She sat down on her mat, if Francis wanted to meditate, she’ll let him meditate. The two started their usual ritual on meditation, but Francis found he couldn’t focus. His stomach hurt too much for that. He opened his eyes to see Harmony facing away from him. Francis sighed as he uncrossed his leg and leaned back on his hands. Slowly, Francis felt himself leaning more and more back until his back was flat on the floor. He put both hands on his stomach, suddenly regretting putting his apron back on. The knot was digging into his lower back and the apron itself was tight on his belly. Francis went to see if Harmony was still distracted but the waiter really couldn’t see past his stomach and there was no sitting back up right now. He gave a little huff, he’d have to risk it. Francis tugged on the apron, feeling the knot come loose and a bit of relief as he took the apron off. If he had just gone to bed he could take of his pants. This was a horrible idea. Today was just not his day. Only 2 good things came out of today: He got to eat, and Arnoldo actually left him alone about it. It was sorta nice not being told when to eat, or what to eat, or how much to eat. Francis pulled at the hem of his shirt as he remembered the smell. He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes and licked the inside of his cheek at the taste. 

“Francis!” Harmony yelled, looking down at the waiter on the floor. She had noticed Francis lay down minutes ago, she stood up and looked down on him. If he was thinking what she thought he was thinking, he was about to get a piece of her mind. 

“You were thinking about the Caponata weren’t you?” Harmony asked. Francis nodded sheepishly. 

“It wasn’t just the Caponata. It was Arnoldo’s secret ingredient. It was irresistible” Francis explained. He made an attempt to sit up but ultimately stayed down on the floor. 

“It was the reason I wanted to quit” Francis said quietly. It hit him again, the pang of shame in his chest. He probably looked pathetic, sprawled out on the floor.He went to tug at his towel, but remembered he had left it in the kitchen. 

“You want to quit?!” Harmony asked, sitting down beside him. She snapped her fingers and laid down next to him, this would make Francis feel like no one was looking down at him as long as she was on his level. 

“I did- and-and it still feel like maybe I should” Francis whispered. 

“Francis, is this really what you want?” Harmony asked. This wasn’t the first time they had had this conversation, but this time Francis looked like he meant it. 

“Yes, no, I don’t know. Waiters aren’t supposed to eat the food the serve, and I ate literally all of it. I had no self-control. I-I thought that I was this really professional waiter and everyone liked me because I was so good at it. I’m not” Francis explained. Harmony shook her head. 

“Francis, you are the best waiter in the whole world. You may have eaten the Caponata but it’s obviously not all your fault. You’ve never done something like this before. Even I fell for Arnoldo’s secret ingredient” Harmony assured him. Francis shrugged and rested his hands on the curve of his stomach. Harmony nudged him. 

“I think I know what’ll make you feel better” Harmony said standing up. Francis expected her to offer her hand to help him up but she ran off. Francis pushed himself into a sitting position. 

“Harmony!” He yelled. Francis huffed. 

 

Harmony held the green smoothie in her hand as she walked in. It took a minute to get Arnoldo to give her the recipe but she got there. Harmony didn’t realize how much she made with the measurements that Arnoldo gave her or how much Francis was supposed to drink. She was glad Arnoldo knew a recipe for it, it saved her time having to find one online. Harmony noticed the waiter was still laid out on the floor, playing on his phone. 

“Oh Francis! I’m sorry, I forgot you were still here” Harmony laughed as she offered him her hand. Francis smiled tiredly at her and took her hand, struggling to stand up. He huffed and put a hand to his stomach. Harmony handed him the smoothie. Francis made a face. 

“I don’t think it’s supposed to be thick Harmony. Last time Arnoldo made it it was more liquidity” Francis said taking it and looking into the drink. Harmony pushed it to his mouth and let go. Francis drank the smoothie quickly and without taking a breath. 

“Feel any better?” Harmony asked, rubbing his shoulder. Francis swallowed the last of the smoothie and put a hand to his stomach, nodding. The taste wasn’t awful but it certain wasn’t great. 

 

 

Francis walked into Harmony’s side of the room, finding her in her usual meditation pose. 

“Harmony” he said happily. Harmony opened her eyes. Francis stood there happily, back to his normal size. 

“Feeling better Francis?” Harmony asked as he sat down next to her. 

“A lot better, thank you Harmony” Francis said, nudging her. 

“You’re welcome” She said happily, closing her eyes again. 

“I really mean it” Francis told her suddenly. Harmony opened her eyes and gave Francis a look. 

“What do you mean” She asked. 

“I wanted to quit. I was embarrassed and I felt awful because of what I did and I wanted to throw in the towel. You helped me without making me feel worse” Francis explained. Harmony put an arm over his thicker shoulders. 

“You’re my best friend Francis, I just wanted to help you feel better about yourself. Maybe next time, lets think before we ate all of Arnoldo’s Caponata” She teased as she pinched his side. The boy yelped. 

“Thats not fair! It was the ingredient!” He yelled. Harmony laughed. Francis was back. 


End file.
